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Packers’ Rashan Gary Returns To Practice

By | at August 7, 2023 5:23 pm

Rashan Gary needed to wait longer than most first-round pass rushers to become a regular starter. The Packers chose the Michigan product a month after signing both Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith in free agency in 2019. Gary started all of four games over his first two seasons.

Za’Darius Smith’s back injury shelving him in September 2021 opened the door to a regular role, and Gary made the most of the opportunity by becoming the Packers’ top edge rusher that season. After Gary carried that momentum into 2022, a November ACL tear blunted it. Gary, however, took a big step toward returning on time for this season.

The fifth-year edge defender returned to practice Monday, moving off the Packers’ active/PUP list. If Gary ends up needing more time in an effort to come back from the severe knee injury, the Packers no longer have the option of stashing him on the reserve/PUP list to start the year. Green Bay would only have an IR option; like the reserve/PUP list, that designation would cost Gary four games. As of Monday, however, it is more likely than not Gary begins the season on time.

Gary broke through for 9.5 sacks and 28 quarterback hits in 2021, helping the Packers secure their second straight No. 1 seed despite a wave of injuries depleting their depth chart. The team then made Za’Darius Smith a cap casualty in March 2022. Gary and Preston Smith remain the Packer anchors on the edge, though first-round pick Lukas Van Ness — who excelled as an off-the-bench inside and outside rusher at Iowa — is now in the picture.

Gary’s return will give the Packers flexibility with Van Ness, whose path could be similar to that of Gary’s. That said, Green Bay would only incur a $4MM dead-money charge by designating Preston Smith a post-June 1 cut in 2024. For now, the team will have an intriguing set of pass rushers entering its first post-Aaron Rodgers season.

Eric Stokes, who was lost for the season during the same Week 9 game in which Gary went down, remains on Green Bay’s active/PUP list. The third-year cornerback can be activated at any point during training camp. Stokes is coming off knee and foot surgeries.

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Minor NFL Transactions: 8/6/23

By | at August 6, 2023 8:29 pm

Here are today’s minor moves as the weekend comes to a close:

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Andrews joins Philadelphia as a potentially strong depth piece on the offensive line. The seven-year veteran has played 48 games over the years with five different teams, so rejoining the Eagles, even with a new staff from when he left, shouldn’t be too big of an issue. Last year, he started five of the six games he played with the Saints.

Woolen underwent arthroscopic knee surgery back in May and was given a four-to-six-week recovery timeline. He was forced to start camp on the physically unable to perform list, but it’s time for him to make his way back to the field. Last year’s other starter at cornerback, Michael Jackson, has had a great camp and rookie Devon Witherspoon is pushing for a starting role, so Woolen will be glad to get back and reestablish his role in the secondary.

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Minor NFL Transactions: 8/2/23

By | at August 2, 2023 7:07 pm

Here are today’s minor transactions from around the league:

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

  • Waived: WR Ed Lee

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tennessee Titans

Moseley reportedly had a small clean-up procedure on his knee the other day as he continues to come back from last year’s ACL tear. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, it doesn’t appear to be a major setback, and head coach Dan Campbell expects Moseley back on Monday.

The news on Harris’s retirement comes from KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson, who reports that the two sides “are parting ways as (Harris) plans to retire.” If this is truly the end of the road for Harris, then the transaction puts a cap on a five-year career that saw Harris rack up 11 total tackles, two tackles for loss, and three quarterback hits in the NFL.

Turk was urgently brought on as an undrafted rookie out of Oklahoma to compete with free agent addition Jake Bailey, formerly with the Patriots. The punter competition may be over quickly as Bailey is the only punter on the roster now.

Trice, the Steelers’ first of two seventh-round picks this year, suffered a non-contact injury at camp yesterday. His placement on injured reserve indicates that his rookie season has unfortunately come to an end before it had the chance to begin.

2 comments Carolina Panthers Denver Broncos Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Houston Texans Kansas City Chiefs Las Vegas Raiders Miami Dolphins Minnesota Vikings New England Patriots New Orleans Saints Pittsburgh Steelers Tennessee Titans Transactions

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/1/23

By | at August 1, 2023 8:13 pm

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: RB Toriano Clinton, TE La’Michael Pettway, T Dan Skipper
  • Waived: T Jordan Murray, TE Kaden Smith, DT Jamal Woods

Las Vegas Raiders

New England Patriots

  • Claimed (from Bears): WR Thyrick Pitts
  • Placed on reserve/retired list: WR Jalen Hurd

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Chosen in the third round by the 49ers back in 2019, Hurd never ended up seeing regular-season action. A converted running back who played in front of Alvin Kamara at points while at Tennessee, Hurd transferred to Baylor and became a wide receiver. Two season-ending injuries — a back malady in 2019 and an ACL tear in 2020 — derailed Hurd’s 49ers tenure. The team cut him during the 2021 season. Barely a week after the Patriots signed Hurd, it appears he is throwing in the towel on an injury-plagued career.

Penisini had unretired this offseason, joining the Panthers. The former Lions sixth-rounder played two seasons on his rookie contract but called it quits in June 2022. His unretirement will precede a Panthers exit. The Lions are moving Zylstra off their 90-man roster due to a severe knee injury. If unclaimed, Zylstra would revert to Detroit’s IR list. Zylstra has seen action in 17 games for the Lions over the past two seasons.

Hassenauer will require surgery to repair a triceps injury, and this transaction will shut him down — as far as the Giants are concerned. The only way Hassenauer can play in 2023 would be if the Giants removed him from IR via an injury settlement. Hairston suffered a herniated disk during practice, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson (on Twitter).

0 comments Carolina Panthers Chicago Bears Denver Broncos Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts Las Vegas Raiders New England Patriots New York Giants Pittsburgh Steelers Seattle Seahawks Transactions

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/29/23

By | at July 29, 2023 7:10 pm

Saturday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

  • Activated from NFI: G Colby Gossett 
  • Waived (injury designation): CB BoPete Keyes

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Claimed off waivers (from Titans): OL James Empey

Houston Texans

  • Placed on IR: OL Dylan Deatherage

Indianapolis Colts

  • Waived: CB Cole Coleman

New York Giants

With Butler being moved from the NFI list to injured reserve, he is out for the season. The former first-rounder signed a futures deal with New York in January, after spending the past campaign on and off the team’s practice squad. He made just one appearance for the Giants in 2022, and will be four years removed from his career-best six-sack season with the Panthers in 2019. Butler, 29, has started 19 of his 77 career regular season games.

2 comments Arizona Cardinals Atlanta Falcons Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills Carolina Panthers Cleveland Browns Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts New York Giants Transactions

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/28/23

By | at July 28, 2023 7:30 pm

Here are today’s minor moves from around the league as we head into the weekend:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

  • Waived: OL Dylan Deatherage

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Waived: LB Tyreek Maddox-Williams

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

  • Waived: OL James Empey

Mullen was placed on the NFI list two days ago. Apparently, his failure to disclose the non-football injury led to his release. Claimed off of waivers early into the offseason this year, Mullen has spent a good amount of time in Baltimore but has yet to see any game time. The Ravens hoped he might add some depth to their secondary, but with today’s transaction, the former second-round pick hits the free agent market.

Dantzler, a former third-round pick in Minnesota, also finds himself available in free agency after a short stint with the Bills. After signing with his second team of the offseason last month, Dantzler was waived with an injury designation.

1 comment Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills Carolina Panthers Denver Broncos Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Houston Texans Los Angeles Chargers Los Angeles Rams New England Patriots New York Jets Seattle Seahawks Tennessee Titans Transactions

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/27/23

By | at July 27, 2023 7:46 pm

Today’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Signed: WR Ty Scott

Las Vegas Raiders

  • Signed: CB Isiah Brown
  • Waived/injured: CB Jordan Perryman

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Signed: LB Blake Lynch

New York Giants

  • Signed: DT Kevin Atkins

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Ben Burr-Kirven was a fifth-round pick by the Seahawks back in 2019, and he transformed into a key special teamer through his first two seasons in the NFL. However, he suffered a knee injury during the 2021 preseason that ended up wiping out that entire season. The issues persisted in 2022, and after spending that year on PUP, he was ultimately released in March. Coach Pete Carroll apparently reversed course and ended up bringing back the linebacker.

“He’s in a little bit of an experimental mode,” Carroll said earlier this year (via the team’s website). “The surgeries that he has had and the process he is going through, he is making progress. He’s always in the weight room with us. He’s always here working with a tremendous mentality. The nerve issues, really intricate stuff going on, so he’s had to have a really good attitude about it to stay in the fight and he is. He’s planning on getting back out there. So, we are going to give him every chance. If he can do it, this is going to be the place that he does it.”

Xavier Henderson was released today with an injury settlement, according to Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post (via Twitter). The undrafted free agent landed on the physically unable to perform list earlier this week.

1 comment Carolina Panthers Cleveland Browns Green Bay Packers Kansas City Chiefs Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Chargers New York Giants San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks Transactions Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/26/23

By | at July 26, 2023 9:07 pm

Today’s minor transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: WR Cody Chrest
  • Placed on NFI: OT Caleb Jones
  • Waived/injured: WR Jeff Cotton

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Among the additions on today’s list, defensive back A.J. Moore is the most notable. The defensive back spent four years with the Texans to begin his career, compiling 69 tackles in 55 games while primarily playing on special teams. The 27-year-old spent a chunk of last season on the Titans practice squad, and he ultimately got into one game with the big-league club.

0 comments Arizona Cardinals Baltimore Ravens Carolina Panthers Chicago Bears Green Bay Packers Jacksonville Jaguars Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Chargers Los Angeles Rams New York Giants New York Jets Philadelphia Eagles San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks Tennessee Titans Transactions

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/25/23

By | at July 25, 2023 7:43 pm

With a number of teams preparing for the start of training camp, a long list of players were placed on inactive lists today. We’ve compiled all of those and today’s other minor moves below:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Free Agents

Isaiah Wilson hasn’t had an NFL gig since he was released by the Giants in January of 2022. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweets that the free agent lineman was slapped with a three-game suspension, but it’s uncertain what led to the temporary ban. Wilson was a first-round pick by the Titans in 2020 but got into only one game with Tennessee before getting shipped off to Miami. He was waived by Miami after showing up late to his team physical, and his practice squad stint with New York only lasted one season.

Max Garcia is an experienced addition to the Saints OL room, with the veteran having most recently started seven of his 12 appearances with the Cardinals in 2022. The 31-year-old has 59 games of starting experience, although Pro Football Focus was iffy on his production last year (63rd among 77 qualifying offensive guards).

Following a three-year stint in Cleveland, Terrance Mitchell has spent the past two seasons bouncing around the NFL. He got into 14 games (13 starts) for the Texans in 2021, finishing with 60 tackles and 10 passes defended. He spent the 2022 season with the Titans, finishing with 39 tackles in 11 games (five starts). 49ers fifth-round pick Darrell Luter Jr. is set to miss some time with a knee injury, providing Mitchell with an opportunity during training camp.

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Luke Musgrave Likely To Open Season As Packers’ TE1

By | at July 23, 2023 12:48 pm

The Packers’ tight end depth chart is presently topped by two rookies, Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft. Per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic (subscription required), Musgrave is likely to start the season as Green Bay’s TE1.

Given that Musgrave was a second-round choice while Kraft was a third-round selection, that does not come as much of a surprise. What is perhaps more notable is the fact that the Packers are apparently content to open the year with two raw talents, particularly since the blocking acumen of both players is currently unknown.

A quality blocking TE is a key component of head coach Matt LaFleur‘s offense, which is why the team continued to employ Marcedes Lewis — one of the game’s best blockers at the tight end position — during LaFleur’s four-year tenure in Green Bay. Lewis, 39, has expressed a desire to become the first tight end to play an 18th season, but the Packers are not expected to re-sign him, Perhaps the club’s views in that regard will change if Musgrave and Kraft should struggle to find their footing as blockers.

What both players definitely have is pass-catching upside and elite athleticism. As Schneidman notes, the Packers have not had an uber-athlete at tight end since Jermichael Finley was in the prime of his career, and with a bevy of talented but unproven youngsters at the top of the wide receiver depth chart, Musgrave and Kraft will have an opportunity to make their mark in the passing game right away.

Musgrave, an Oregon State product, did not deliver prolific stats with the Beavers, with his 304 receiving yards in 2021 representing his best single-season mark. But an early-season knee injury cut his senior year short, and he impressed at the Senior Bowl. ESPN’s Scouts Inc. rated him as this year’s No. 31 overall prospect.

Kraft, meanwhile, put up terrific numbers in his final collegiate season, though that came against FCS competition, The South Dakota State alum caught 65 balls for 780 yards and six TDs en route to consensus FCS All-American and All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors.

In addition to ushering in the Jordan Love era at quarterback and parting ways (presumbaly) with Lewis, the Packers also bid adieu to tight end Robert Tonyan and receivers Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb this offseason. The extent to which Green Bay’ youth movement succeeds will have a major impact on the Wisconsin futures of Love and LaFleur in particular.

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